


Take It As It Comes

by canadiankazz



Category: L.A. By Night (Web Series), Vampire: The Masquerade
Genre: Anxiety, Blood Drinking, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I just wished they'd talk more like this in the show damn it, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:14:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22614697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadiankazz/pseuds/canadiankazz
Summary: Jasper goes hunting while Eva waits anxiously at home. Spoilers for episode 2 season 4.
Relationships: Jasper/Eva
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	Take It As It Comes

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was written as a little Jeva catharsis for myself after Episode 2 of Season 4. Contains spoilers for that. Written before Episode 3 came out. Thank you to cravatfiend, for staying up late and helping with this fic.

Jasper limped hungrily, painfully, through the dark streets of L.A. He was having trouble concentrating. He felt like shit, perhaps more so than usual. The events of the evening seemed a blur to him now. That damn gargoyle, everyone running, Eva firing off bolt after bolt of Zeus’ Fury, and…

She had bit him. He had fed her. He had never _allowed_ anyone to do that to him before. He didn’t count all those people he had kept before he and Eva made their agreement. That didn’t count. He hadn’t done _that_ to _them_ out of any sort of kindness.

Worst though, was the fact that Kyoko and Gregory had seen them do it. Jasper snarled to himself, cursing his stupidity. He really wished that hadn’t happened like that.

And then his Beast laughing at him, spurring him on to terrible violence.

Fuck… he hurt. He wanted to heal, but he couldn't. He was very glad he didn’t have to breathe. He could feel broken ribs. His legs hurt too. He just wanted to be in bed, in his quiet haven, with Eva by his side…

But Eva was angry with him. He had said some hurtful things and done several more that were very stupid. He snarled again. Stupid, worthless… she was wasting her time on him, surely. She was already stressed. Every waking moment, she was paranoid that Maximilian Strauss would come swooping in and snatch her away. Even when she slept, she dreamed of him. Eva wore red now, in bold defiance of the curse Strauss had put on her. Jasper was proud of her for that.

What now though? What do we do now?

One thing at a time. First, blood.

Jasper stalked down towards the slums. Skid row. There were always Kindred hunting down there, preying on the lost and forgotten Hollywood homeless. Jasper waited, standing still in the shadows. He forced himself, his beast, to be patient. Someone would come along, eventually.

After an hour or so, some unwary Gangrel came crawling out from behind an alley. The Gangrel scampered across the street, leading a pack of flea-ridden cats behind him. Jasper forced himself to wait. Not yet.

There was a scuffle down the block. A homeless man sleeping on a stoop was set upon by the alley cat Gangrel. There was screaming. Jasper remained still and let the Gangrel do whatever he was going to do. He watched the Gangrel drag the homeless man - dead or just unconscious, it was impossible to tell - back into the alley he had come out from. The cats followed, meowing with hungry excitement.

That was when Jasper moved.

The Gangrel never saw Jasper coming. The cats hissed and spat. They clawed at him, attempting to fight back, but Jasper let his Beast go. It was a yowling, hissing, messy slaughter. The Gangrel tried to run, but Jasper was faster and took him down. Jasper drank until his Beast shut up. The surviving cats fled, scattering into the night. Then he dragged what remained of the Gangel into the sewers to dispose of him.

* * *

It was only two hours until dawn by the time Jasper returned to his haven door at the L.A. river. He was still limping, and he was sporting many fresh, stinging claw marks and scratches, but at least his Beast was quiet.

Jasper opened his hatch and crept inside. He could hear faint music playing from within the sanctum. Eva had taken a page out of Annabelle’s book and learned how to use Spotify. She had made several playlists for herself. Some of them were music from the 60’s. A few were love songs. Many of them were very sad or angry. This particular one she had picked out for the two of them not long after she had moved in.

“ _Love is blindness!_ ” Jack White screamed through the speakers of Eva’s phone. “ _I don’t want to see! Won’t you wrap the night around me? Oh, my love, blindness..._ ”

Jasper could smell vitae. Eva’s cheeks were red with tears. She had been crying.

She looked up instantly when he came in, anxious and afraid.

“Hey… it’s just me,” Jasper said.

“Oh…” Eva turned off the music and wiped her eyes. “How did you um… how did your hunt go?”

“It went well.”

“You’re hurt again,” she said, noticing the scratches. Her tone was tight. She hated seeing him hurt, and often scolded him for putting himself in unnecessary harm.

“Yeah. I went down to Skid Row and hunted a Gangrel who was killing homeless people. He had cats. Lots of cats.” Jasper snarled a little.

“Oh.” Eva wiped her face again and looked away from him. “That’s fine.”

Jasper nodded. She had established some very strict rules when it came to who he was allowed to feed from. This hadn’t broken any of them.

“Can we talk before we sleep?” Jasper asked quietly.

“You never want to talk,” Eva commented.

“Well… I do now. I said something I shouldn't have, about being better off on my own. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to include you in that, just…” he gestured back towards the direction of the front door, “the others. I don’t like them being down here. You know I… I don’t feel that way about you.”

Eva looked at him. Her mouth was set in a sad line. It had been ages since he had seen her smile and it broke Jasper’s heart.

“And… I’m sorry about the potion. I thought that Kyoko needed it more,” Jasper added.

“That had been a gift for you,” Eva said coldly. “It’s not easy to make and you just… gave it away and said it didn’t matter.”

Jasper tried not to growl as he spoke, but it was difficult. “I said that because my injuries will be easier to heal than hers. We… I let her come down there, which meant I was responsible for her. If she had died, do you want to explain to Hestur and Violet what happened?”

“No,” Eva admitted.

“Right, so… to try to keep the Wyrd Sisters as our allies, I gave her the potion. I… maybe I should have asked you first. I’m sorry. I… I fucked everything up tonight.”

Eva sighed. “No… no you didn’t. You did your best down there. You saved us.”

“ _You_ saved us. You did more to that thing than I ever could have.”

“It would have killed you, if you tried to lead it away. I couldn't… I couldn't let that happen Jasper.” Eva’s voice shook like she might cry again.

“I was trying to make sure it wouldn't find this place. I just want to keep you safe. I know you haven’t felt safe… not for months. I’m doing my best, Eva. I care about you… a _lot._ You know that,” Jasper continued, pushing onward while he felt brave enough to say the words. “I don’t ever, _ever_ want to hurt you. You… probably tasted that, um… when we… when you, um… when I fed you, back there.”

Eva nodded slowly.

Jasper took a chance and stepped a little closer to her. There was a pause, then Eva reached out and put her arms around him. He let her lean against him and wrapped his arms around her, mindful of her dress. He rested his chin on the crown of her head. She was tense with anxiety, he could feel it. He didn’t know what to say to help her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again.

“It’s alright,” she whispered back. “I’m not mad at you. I’m just...very scared and frustrated. Tonight was a lot.”

“Yeah, it was,” he agreed. It had taken him a long time to convince Eva to leave the shelter of this haven with him tonight to collect the mirror. She only really felt any kind of security here now, with the magical wards, complicated puzzle-like secrecy, and Jasper there to keep her safe.

“It’s over now though,” Jasper continued, “and there’s not enough stone between the labyrinth and here for that thing to get through. We’ll be safe tonight.”

“And what about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow… we’ll work things out,” Jasper sighed. He stroked her back and chanced placing a small kiss on the top of her head. In the past, it would have made Eva smile. She had no smiles to give tonight. He held her a little tighter, cursing Strauss for causing Eva so much stress and pain. “We’re okay for now,” Jasper concluded. He didn’t think he sounded very confident or reassuring, but it was all he had.

Eva was still and quiet, clinging tightly to his clothing.

Jasper held her for another moment, offering what little comfort he could.

“Would you like to feed again?” he asked.

Eva pulled back a little. “No, thank you. I’ll be alright.”

“Are you sure? I, uh… I don’t mind.”

“We shouldn’t have done what we did down there. Not in front of the others like that. It was… very taboo.”

Jasper grinned a little. “They can deal with it. I’m not ashamed. You needed it. Are you _sure_ , Eva? I can spare a little more.”

“Well…” Eva bit her lip. “I am… hungry again, but… I don’t want to hurt you…”

“You won’t,” Jasper said, bringing his wrist up. He took off his fingerless glove and rolled down his sleeve a little. “I trust you.”

Eva took Jasper’s long, pale hand in hers. “Your Vitae… it was every bit as good as I thought it would be,” she whispered with some reverence.

Jasper didn’t know quite what to say to that. “Um… thanks.”

Eva kissed his wrist, right at the spot she had bitten earlier. Then she opened her mouth and sunk her small, sharp fangs deep into his flesh.

Jasper flinched as the pain hit him again. He didn’t pull away though. He could feel his Vitae flowing as he watched Eva drink. The bite, the Kiss, it felt good, _too_ good, even. If he had a heart beat right now, it would be racing. 

Eva didn’t drink as much as she had last time. She tenderly licked the wound closed. She seemed to tense again for a moment, as if having an internal debate, but then whatever feeling she was experiencing passed without argument. She went up on her tiptoes and gave Jasper a kiss on the lips. He welcomed it gladly. His Beast was slightly more awake than it had been a minute ago, but this time it was a hundred percent worth it.

“Thank you,” Eva sighed when the kiss parted.

“You’re welcome,” he responded very quietly. “Now… bed.”

Eva nodded, still holding onto him. “And tomorrow…?”

“Tomorrow… we’ll take as it comes.”

Eva nodded again. Jasper held her hand and led her to the safety of their bedroom.


End file.
